This invention relates to fan apparatus and, in particular, to a support bracket for a fan motor and attached fan.
It is well known in the fan industry to support an electrical motor with an output shaft on which a fan device is mounted on a suitable support structure, such as a housing, whereby the fan is located adjacent to or in an opening for the airflow that passes through the fan blades. In some cases, the fan and its motor are mounted on a rectangular panel structure that can have a circular opening formed therein with the diameter of this opening corresponding substantially to the total diameter of the fan blades. It is also known to mount a fan and its drive motor on a rigid ring member which also forms a suitable opening for the airflow through the fan. It is known to mount the motor on the panel or on the ring by means of bracket members or struts which can be, for example, attached to a motor mounting surface on one side of the motor housing. Generally speaking, the struts or brackets which are attached to and support the motor and its fan must have sufficient rigidity and strength to not only support the weight of the motor and its fan but also to avoid vibration problems which may arise once the fan is in operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,937 issued Oct. 23, 1979 to Rheem Mfg. Co. describes one known method for mounting a fan motor to a grill panel made of sheet metal. The supporting panel includes sectors of louvers arranged about a center support section against which the fan motor is supported. This known fan apparatus which is designed for a condenser unit employs a bracket assembly made of four substantially identical bracket members, the assembly being attached to the inside surface of the panel. Each bracket member is formed with three sections, including a first section located adjacent the side of the motor and a relatively long bracing section located at one end of the first section and extending at an obtuse angle thereto. A third tab section is located at the end of the first section which is opposite the bracing section. It is noted that the first section and the bracing section can be permanently attached to the adjacent center support section of the grill panel by welding. The four bracket members after they are fitted together form an encircling bracket for the fan motor with the bracing section of each bracket member extending from a respective corner of the square that surrounds the motor. A difficulty with this construction is that it does not permit easy, on site attachment or detachment of the bracket members from the grill panel and it may in addition require that the grill panel itself have a central supporting section for the fan motor.
Earlier U.S. Pat. No. 2,557,223 describes another type of fan support for locating a fan in an opening in a housing. In this case, a split collar is arranged around the side of the motor housing and this collar can be secured to the motor housing by tightening a bolt that extends through two outwardly projecting flanges connected to the collar. The collar is connected to a circular member that also extends around the side of the motor and projecting outwardly from this circular member are a plurality of outwardly inclined radial arms, the outer extremities of which terminate in and are integral with a ring which is coaxial with the circular member and the shaft of the motor. Formed integral with this ring and projecting outwardly therefrom are a plurality of flanges which can be used to attach the motor support structure to a wall or fan housing. It will be seen that this fan support structure would be relatively difficult to construct and it does not appear to be adaptable to different types of motors and different sizes of motors.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and relatively inexpensive support bracket that can be used to support a fan motor and its attached fan adjacent an opening.
The preferred support bracket of this invention can be quickly assembled and only one type of support bracket need be held in inventory for a particular fan and motor size. The disruption of airflow through the opening is minimized by the use of the support brackets of this invention because only the thickness of the metal used in each bracket interferes with the airflow close to the fan blade track.
According to one aspect of the invention, a support bracket for a fan motor and attached fan is formed from an integral metal piece and comprises a substantially planar central section adapted for connection to a side of the fan motor and two substantially similar wing sections extending from opposite sides of the central section. Each wing section extends at an obtuse angle of about 135 degrees to the central section and is adapted for detachable connection using threaded fasteners to a main fan and motor supporting member at an outer end of the wing section.
Preferably the bracket is made from sheet metal and each wing section tapers in width from an inner end adjacent the central section to the outer end thereof. Each wing section can be formed with an elongate stiffening flange along one longitudinal edge thereof
According to another aspect of the invention, a fan apparatus comprises a fan device having fan blades, a motor for rotating the fan device, and a fan support structure capable of supporting both the fan device and the motor. The motor has a rotatable output shaft projecting from one end of the motor and on which the fan device is mounted. The fan support structure forms an opening for passage of an airflow through the fan device. This structure includes a support member defining the opening and two substantially similar support brackets connected to motor mounting surfaces on opposite sides of the motor and extending between the motor and the support member. Each support bracket is formed from one integral metal piece and comprises a central section connected to its respective motor mounting surface by means of fasteners and two substantially similar wing sections extending from opposite ends of the central section. Each wing section forms an obtuse angle with the central section and is detachably connected to the support member at an outer end of the wing section.
In a particular preferred embodiment, each wing section is formed with a connecting flange at its outer end and each connecting flange is attached by bolts and cooperating threaded nuts to the support member.